Nature of the Blue Flame
by Neeko96
Summary: Konoha has just recovered from the attack of the Akatsuki leader, Pain, and things are finally quieting down, but another group is moving to disturb that peace. Of course having a grudge against the great nations isn't that uncommon but their method is. Meanwhile a certain Exwire is just trying not to get executed when he wakes up on the side of a dirt road near... Konoha?
1. Chapter 1 - The Summoning

**Okay, I'm sure this has been done before but I don't read a broad spectrum of fanfics so I can't be absolutely sure, but probably. Anyway this is as you know a Blue Exorcist and Naruto crossover. BE story line will be as if Lucifer hadn't attacked yet and Shima is still there. The Naruto story line will be after the attack of Pain on the village but the village reconstruction is finished. There we go so you have the basic set up. This is a prologue and as such will be rather uninformative aside from setup. If you don't like it fine, I don't really care and if I don't get a response then this will go no further. Now without further adieu.=^-^=**

**Disclaimer - Its a FAN-fiction people.=^-^=**

**Ch. 1 - Summoning**

* * *

A young man was walking down a dimly lite hall holding a jar in both hands firmly. He held an expression of determination below his furrowed brow as he quickly passed one torch after another. His lips were making slight movement as if he were mumbling to himself though it was inaudible to anyone if they were near. As he turned a corner a more brightly lit room appeared at the end of the hall and his expression turned to that of a twisted excitement as if his greatest wish were to come true.

Upon entering the room he approached another man wearing several pieces of samurai armor. He looked just short of middle aged with a long black beard and a long scar starting at his firm hairline and going all the way down to his jaw through his left eye. "Is it ready?" He said without facing the man who just entered.

The younger man responded as he kneeled with the jar presented to him. "Yes Lord Raiko."

Raiko peeked over his shoulder at the man and a smile peeked across his lips. "Perfect. The time is drawing near, and we need to start the summoning." He turned back towards the scroll hanging over the large fire pit before him. "The time is upon us." The younger man bowed and backed out of the room, leaving the jar behind on the floor.

* * *

Light from the sun peeked through the blinds of the small dorm room of True Cross as morning made itself known. It's attempts to stir the young teenager in the bed were in vain, however, as he simply rolled over waking up the small two tailed cat that was sleeping on one of his legs. "_Hey….. what's the big idea?"_ Little Kuro said while pawing at one of his eyes. He yawned and stretched the sleep from his muscles. Upon seeing the sun through the window fully he walked over the teen's covered form to his head. "_It's time to get up Rin. RIN!"_

Rin swatted at the cat while grumbling sleepily. "Mmmm….. not yet….. go away…."

Kuro now wore a frown as he walked over to the young teen's face. "_But you're the one who told me to wake you up!"_ He started to paw at the boy's face. "_Something about a mission."_ Rin pulled the covers over his face causing Kuro to fall back a bit.

After a few moments in that state he jerked himself up and frantically looked around the room. "Damn it! Where's Yukio!?"

"_He wasn't here when I woke up."_

Rin jumped off the bed causing Kuro to once again fall and grabbed the alarm clock. "Holy crap it's 9 already!?" He dropped it back onto the desk and grabbed his uniform from the floor. He was just tucking his tail as he dashed out the door with his sword over his shoulder. "Aww damn I'm gonna be late for class!" Kuro was following close behind as he hurried down the steps, through the halls, and into the dining area.

He stopped cold when he saw a plate of food on the table and for some reason it still seemed to be giving off steam. He felt his stomach growl as he eyed it, and his mind quickly fell into a tug of war over whether to eat or hurry to class. His internal debate was ended short, however, when he heard someone enter the dorm. He turned to the entrance to see Yukio in full exorcist uniform enter the room. Rin's confusion was apparent as he questioned his brother. "Why aren't you in class?"

Yukio raised a brow but it didn't seem to be out of surprise. "There are no classes today, at least not for the regular students."

Rin scratched his head a bit. "Ummm…. Then where did you go so early?"

Yukio cut his eyes at his forgetful brother and responded. "I had a mission this morning; I remember telling you last night and you begging to come, of course there was no waking you up this morning so I didn't bother for too long."

Rin's expression turned disheartened as his jaw dropped at his brother. "WHAT!? Damn I forgot! Couldn't you have tried a bit harder to wake me up!?"

"No." Yukio deadpanned. "Besides it wasn't a big mission so you would have been bored anyway." He then turned to head down the hall. "I'm going to do some homework before class later. I hope you at least started some of yours." He said as he pushed up his glasses.

Rin sighed as he turned to the table with the food waiting. "Damn!... Not only did I miss the mission, but I woke up for nothing." He sat down and began to eat somewhat mournfully. "_Hey Rin let's play!"_

Rin chewed and swallowed his first bit as he watched Kuro run around in circles on the table before him. "Play?... I guess I could get some more practice in. Last thing I need is Beelzaboobs getting mad at me for slacking off." He piled in his rice as he remembered their training from yesterday. "I swear she's trying to kill me with those crazy sparing sessions!"

He squeezed his eyes shut as he remembered the last thing she said to him as he collapsed on the floor. "_You gotta learn the true nature of that flame of yours before you will be able to truly control it. Let's see how long it takes you."_ He stood up as he finished his meal and Kuro followed him back up to his room.

* * *

"Let the ceremony begin!" Raiko walked into the center of a large intricate diagram. Six men sat in key points with their hands together in the standard pose for molding chakra. They all began to chant in unison as Raiko began to form the hand signs of boar, dog, bird, monkey and ram in succession. The final sing he did was rather mysterious as it almost resembled dragon, but it was slightly off; the thumbs were strait not bent.

With one final motion he bit his thumb and slammed his hand to the ground shouting, "Summoning Jutsu, Spawn of the Beast!" The markings along the diagram immediately lit up much to the satisfaction of Raiko who bore a grin. Each of the other men started to chant louder as the light got brighter. It seemed to go as planned until one of the men burst into blue flames with a horrible scream. The man's gaze did not wander from the horrid sight before him as he beckoned the others to keep chanting. "Keep going! We almost have it!"

Once again the clamor of chanting grew louder and a slight panic could be felt on them as another burned up in the blue hell fire. "KEEP GOING!" The chanting continued as another burned up causing the chanting volume to increase. It seemed the men were on the verge of breaking down when a large flame appeared in the center beside Raiko much to the confusion of the other men. "He's almost-"

He could continue as he was distracted by the remaining men bursting into blue flames and screaming for their lives. "NO!" As each men fell the light started to fade and the fire dimmed. "So close!" He fell to his knees and pounded the ground. "I was so close!" He stopped slamming his fist into the ground after he noticed the light from the diagram had faded but the flame had not burned out. "Wait…"

He turned and placed his hands around it. "It's still here?... But that would mean…. I did it!?" He stood up rapidly. "I did it!"

"It seems so my Lord." Raiko turned to the young man standing in the door way with a black cloak and an oni mask placed over his head. "The summoning was incomplete, however, my Lord and the beast could be anywhere."

Raiko turned to him with a stern glare. "Then I want him found Kazema! I want all of the squads out there looking!" The young man once again knelled, pulled down his mask, and disappeared from the door way. Raiko then looked back to the flame. "Once I have the beast then I shall have my chance. Who needs a tailed beast when you could have a demon at your beck and call?" He laughed a bit. "At least once I have it under complete control. The five nations will have a new super weapon to deal with once I'm finished." The flame seemed to dance as then man continued his laugh.

* * *

"Young man?" An old man was standing over the form of a teenager sleeping partway into a bush on the side of a dirt road. "You shouldn't be sleeping in such a place." He poked at the boy's leg with a staff.

"Why don't you just leave him be dear and take a rest. It's gonna take half the day to get to the village and longer if you don't take it easy." He turned to the elderly woman sitting on a bench beside a wooden cart. She was dressed in a brown kimono and was fanning herself.

"I can't just leave him there Yuno." He poked at the boy again and this time he seemed to twitch. "Oh?"

One of the legs started rise and the bushes parted as the knee bent. "What the…..?" The young teen looked sleepily up to the man. "What's going on?"

The old man scratched his head under the straw hat. "You were sleeping on the side of the road boy. Don't you know that's dangerous?"

Rin scratched his head as he tried to snap out of his drowsy daze. "Sleeping….. on the side of a road?" He looked around at spotted the dirt road and then noticed he was surrounded by trees. "Whoa….. where am I?"

That threw the old man a bit. "Forgot where you went ta sleep eh? Well were on our way to Konoha and its further down that way." He pointed to his right. "If you go this way you'll end up at a nice hot spring village called Kameha." He pointed to his left.

Rin turned his head in confusion. "What? I've never heard of any of those places."

The old man turned to his wife. "I think he must'a hit his head somewhere."

She stood up and walked over. "Oh dear, are you alright?"

Rin stood up and dusted the leaves off of him. "Yeah and I don't think I hit my head." He rubbed at his head to see if there were any bumps. "Though I don't remember falling asleep here. I was on my dorm roof."

"Dorm?" The man questioned while throwing a questioning glance to his wife who shrugged in return.

"Yeah, I was with….. KURO!" Rin started to look around in a panicked state. "Where'd Kuro go!?" He frantically searched the bushes he'd been sleeping in.

"Now who's this Kuro?"

Rin continued to search the bushes as he answered. "He's a two-tailed cat and he was taking a nap with me."

After watching the boy file through the branches for ten minutes the old man decided to step in. "It would seem that your cat idn't here. Maybe he wandered off somewhere."

Rin turned to him with a sigh. "Yeah, maybe….."

"Where are you from boy?" The old woman asked.

"I'm from True Cross Academy, in Academy town."

The old couple traded confused glances. "Never heard of such a place."

"How could you not? It's huge."

The old man shook his head. "Sorry, but the biggest village around here is Konoha."

It was Rin's turned to be confused as he mulled over the foreign name. "….. this can't be right….." He was shaken out of his thoughts when his stomach growled. He blushed a bit as he placed his hand on his belly. "Oh… I guess I missed lunch."

The old couple laughed. "You don't look like you're from around here anyway, but if you'd like some food, I think we got enough to share." Yuno then pulled out a wrapped box from the cart.

"Really!?" Rin asked excitedly.

"Of course boy, now come on." He waved him over to the bench. As soon as they finished eating the old man walked over and lifted the bar at the head of the cart and struggled a bit in lifting it. "We best move on if we want to get to the village before nightfall."

Yuno got up to join him. "Yes that would be best." She turned and waved to the young man. "I hope you find your cat."

The boy watched as the old man struggled to pull the cart and furrowed his brow. "Here, let me help." He stood and moved over to the man to grab the bar.

"It's alright boy, I can handle it. I doubt you have the-" He was cut off when the teen held the bar up with ease and the old man let go.

"Sorry old timer but I'm stronger than I look. Just let me do this to pay you back for the meal alright?"

The man turned to his wife with a baffled smile. "I don't know…."

The boy jerked the cart down and up scooping the old man up in the process. "Believe me, I can handle this."

The man straightened himself in surprise as he watched the young man before him pull not only the cart but him as well. "It seems you are stronger then ya look." He was scratching his head as he turned to his wife again.

"My names Rin by the way, Rin Okumura and you should both ride on the cart. It'll be faster this way."

The old woman hesitantly complied as her husband helped her up. "Well thank you Rin. My names Hiro and this is my wife Yuno. It's simply amazing you can pull this much weight."

Rin did grunt a bit as he responded. "No problem." The cart was going at a nice speed in no time at all, much faster than the old couple expected.

* * *

Only a few hours passed before the village was in full view. "Would ya look at that Yuno, we made it here in record time." Rin took in the sight as he pulled the heavy cart along. "Whoa… this place is huge."

Yuno laughed a bit at his reaction. "Well yes, but what would you expect from one of the great ninja villages? Their recent reconstruction seems almost finished as well."

Rin turned to them in curiosity without stopping. "Ninja village? Reconstruction….. what happened?"

"You musta come from some place real far off if you ain't heard. They were attacked a few months ago by some rouges. Almost destroyed the whole village in the attack too."

Yuno place a finger on her chin. "The strangest thing is that I heard there weren't any deaths."

Rin turned back to the village now only a few minutes from them. "Okay, so it's a huge village full of ninjas… wait NINJAS!? That's so cool!"

He picked up his pace much to the surprise of the old couple who had to steady themselves from the jerk he caused. "Whoa Rin, the village ain't goin anywhere!"

He did let up a bit in response. "Sorry it's just it sounded so cool." They continued at that nice quick pace until they reached the gates around mid-afternoon.

"Well if it isn't old man Hiro!" Hiro walked over to a station with two men wearing ninja attire sat. The one who spoke had spiky black hair and a bandage over his nose.

"Afternoon Kotetsu."

"Here a bit early aren't you?" The other ninja said. This one had dark brown hair peeking out from the bandana that covered most of his head.

"Yeah, I ran into the strangest kid on the way here. He hauled my load part of the way here with both me and Yuno on top of it." He pointed behind him where Rin had helped Yuno down after setting the cart bar down.

Both Kotetsu and Izumo looked at the boy with interest. "And you were hauling your normal amount of iron and steel?"

The old man turned to watch Rin as well. "Actually, I have a bit more than normal which is why I didn't expect to get here before nightfall. He saved me a great deal of work."

Izumo stood up and walked over to inspect the cart while Kotetsu continued to talk to the old man. "He looks a bit odd."

"Yup and I found 'em sleepin on the side of the road about half a day's walk from here. Told me he was from some place called True Cross and he'd never heard of Konoha. I think he might of takin a hit to the head to be honest."

Kotetsu's brow furrowed in confusion at the news. "That is weird…"

"He's a good kid though. Volunteered to help me out even though I'd just met him."

Izumo came back over. "It's clear Hiro. I'm sure Kirin will be happy to have an early delivery." They both waved the old man off before Izumo join Kotetsu back behind the station.

"So what did you think?" Their faces became a bit serious as Kotetsu asked.

"He seemed harmless from what I could gather. Told me his name was Rin Okumura."

"But..?"

"Yeah, something was bit off about him. I couldn't really put my finger on it though." Izumo crossed his arms as he tried to think. "Think we should have him under observation?"

"That would be best considering recent events."

* * *

**And there it is. If you love it or hate it that's up to you. Like I said, if I get no response then this will not continue and I'll take it down later. I also don't think it'll be as complicated or intricate as other fics out there so just think of it as one of those weird filler arcs featuring another anime instead of some random scenario that will never be used in the rest of the manga... now that I think of it I guess filler arcs are like fanfics. To respond leave a review. I will also answer any questions posed to me and feel free to point out mistake or inconsistencies.=^-^=**


	2. Chapter 2 - I was a Teenage Raman Chef

**Hello my readers and thank you for taking the time to look at this fic. I want to thank the 6 of you who reviewed my first chapter. I feel it was a worthwhile response and deserved a second installment so here we go.=^-^=**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Blue Exorcist**

**Ch. 2 - I was a Teenage Raman Chef**

* * *

Hiro led the way down the crowded road with Rin and his wife just behind him. They had already dropped the load off at Kirin's shop and Hiro promised Rin a good meal for the help. "I really appreciate the food old man."

Hiro laughed. "It's no problem at all. I wouldn't have made it here so fast if it weren't for you Rin."

"And he probably would have thrown out his back too." Yuno added in as she gave a playful look towards her husband.

Rin looked at all the shops they were passing. "So where are we going anyway? This place seems to be really busy."

Hiro turned to him as he walked. "Well around this time, this district is usually the busiest because of all the restaurants in it. Of course it usually has more people, but most of these places only just opened up again. We're going to eat at an old friends place, and he serves the best Raman in town." Rin seemed a bit surprised at that because it kinda sounded like someone else just now. He quickly let the thought leave though as he took in the rest of the village he could see bathed in a twilight glow. One sight in particular caught his eye as it seemed as though some faces were carved into the mountain side.

After about 10 minutes of walking through the busy streets the couple stopped at a place called Ichiraku Raman and they beckoned Rin to take a seat with them. He sat by the old man who pointed to a menu on the wall. "Feel free to pick anything you like its no problem kid."

"But I…"

He slapped him on the back as he cut him off. "You more than deserve it now I won't take no for an answer."

"Hey Hiro! Long time no see?"

The old man turned to the shop keep as he greeted him with a smile. "Teuchi! Seems you haven't changed much since the reconstruction." The two of them shook hands.

"Hey there Yuno, keeping this old man in one piece as always?"

She laughed at that. "I do my best."

Teuchi then noticed the boy they had with them. "Who's your young friend here." He asked as he pointed Rin's way. He hadn't noticed the attention he was getting due to his focus on the menu.

"Oh him? He's a life saver's who he is! Hauled my cart half way here in half the time with both me and Yuno riding on top." Hiro crossed his arms as he looked to the teen. "Strange enough though we found him sleeping on the side of the road."

The cook seemed confused a bit as he looked over the boy. "With what you usually have in that cart I'm surprised he could even budge it."

The old man nodded in response. "You're tellin me, but he made it look so easy. Scooped me right of the ground and started pullin full force."

Teuchi smiled at the boy. "Well ain't that something? Hey boy what's your name?"

Rin snapped out of his food daze and looked up at the cook. "uh… me?" He gestured to himself. "My name's Rin… Rin Okumura."

Teuchi raised his brow. "Well Rin I just want to let you know that your Raman's on the house tonight for helping out an old friend."

Rin's mouth dropped and his cheeks flushed. "What? Really?!"

Teuchi crossed his arms and nodded. "Yep now what are ya hungry for?" Rin quickly dropped his humble expression for the idea of food as he began looking down the menu again. A quiet chant of 'meat' could be heard as he did so.

* * *

All students were gathered in the cram school class room with Shura sitting on the desk in agitation as Yukio entered the room. He was surprised to see her in the room mostly due to the fact that she's supposed to do reports after she has training sessions with Rin. "You're not hiding from paperwork again are you?" He said with his tone laced with a sharp undertone.

She turned to him with a glare as she hopped off the desk. "Well no. I was waiting for Rin cause he cut training today." She looked over the students distastefully. "Though it seems he's cutting cram school too."

Yukio seemed surprised at her exclamation. Sure Rin was lazy at times but he at least doesn't skip out on it; though he does sleep in class. "I'm sure he just fell asleep somewhere and lost track of time." Yukio said with only partial confidence.

"You better hope that's all. I don't want to have to report back that he's gone and run off on us or he's as good as dead." The tension in the room grew as the two exorcists traded stares. Shura walked towards the door. "Go on with class and I look for 'em." Yukio didn't even flinch as she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

A low murmur rang through as a few of the students started to whisper amongst themselves. "You don't really think they'd kill him for that would you Kamiki?" Shiemi's nervous tone was evident.

"Probably, especially considering he doesn't have the best track record for obedience."

Shima turned and whispered to Bon. "He's really asking for it huh?"

Bon was not in the happiest of moods that day and the news about Rin wasn't helping. "That idiot… He's definitely asking for it." After letting out a slight sigh Yukio began the lesson.

* * *

"So Rin, who taught you how to cook?" Teuchi asked as he saw Rin skillfully slice up some pork for raman. Hiro and Yuno had already left for the inn they were staying at while Rin volunteered to help the cook out when he saw how busy he was.

"Well I kinda had to teach myself. I read a few cooking books aside from that though so I have to say I'm pretty good."

Teuchi was pouring broth into a bowl as he responded. "I'll say, you look like a pro. My daughter Ayame is out of town right now so you're a big help."

Rin bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks, though truth be told I wasn't all that sure what I was going to do next."

Teuchi served a bowl to a customer and then turned back with a brow raised. "What do you mean by that?"

Rin dumped the pork slices in a bowl. "Well to be honest I don't really know how I got here. I've never heard of this village and Old man Hiro said it was the closest place. I'm from True Cross in Academy town."

He seemed confused by the name as Rin handed off the bowl to him. "True Cross? Never heard of it."

Rin sighed. "That what the old man said too. Now I have no idea how to get back there and I still need to find Kuro if he's even here."

The cook gave him a sympathetic expression. "Kuro? He a friend of yours?"

"Yeah, I was taking a nap on the dorm roof with him before I woke up on the side of the road. He's either lost here with me or wondering where I went there."

Teuchi served another bowl with a side of pork slices before turning to Rin again. "Well sorry for that. I can't help you there, but if you want, you can stay here. It sounds to me like you've got no place else, and you can work for me in return. I'm gonna need the help until Ayame comes back which'll be in a few days." Rin seemed hesitant to answer but the Raman cook placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. As long as you're here I'll make sure you earn it."

Rin didn't seem too happy, but decided it was something and took Teuchi's outstretched hand. He was a bit nervous due to his past job experience but if its cooking then he should be fine right? His frown rose to a smile as he accepted the offer. "Alright then Boss."

He pat the teens shoulder and then turned to grab some more bowls. "That's what I wanna hear, now let's sell some Raman!" The rest of the night went rather well with Rin only breaking a wooden box due to gripping it too hard. There wasn't anything in it at the moment so the old man wasn't too mad, but he was stern as he scolded the boy.

* * *

"Rin hasn't shown up yet has he?" Shura asked as she stepped back through the cram school classroom door. You could tell she was mad from her tone and the way she held the door handle but Yukio had his standard quiet anger which was just as bad.

He shook his head as he sifted through some papers. "No, and now it's getting ridiculous."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Shura asked as she sat down on one of the student desks.

Yukio looked up at her and straightened his glasses. "This morning. I remember he woke up late and almost missed breakfast. Last thing I heard him say was about getting some practice in with Kuro."

Shura held her chin in thought. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Kuro all day either."

"He wasn't even around the dorm when I went to check earlier."

Shura clicked her tounge as she leaned on one knee. "Damn it….. Where the hell is he."

Both their gazes jumped to the door as they heard it open. "What's this I hear about Rin going missing?" Mephisto strolled on through while swinging his umbrella around his arm. Yukio could feel a headache coming on as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Surly miss Shura, you haven't lost track of him?"

Shura was quick to counter with an aggravated tone. "I'm not his damn babysitter!"

Mephisto acted to be taken aback by her tone but still displayed a whimsical expression. "Tsk tsk tsk Miss Shura. No need for such tones. I'm sure he will turn up eventually and until then I do hope you'll keep this 'situation' to yourself? No need to get the Grigory to lift the reprieve too early now." He then turned to Yukio. "Now do you have any recollection of just when he went missing?"

Yukio took a minute to think as he set his papers down. "Well I last saw him around 9 and then I don't remember him coming back for lunch so probably between 9 and 1."

He tapped the head of his umbrella on the ground and then spun on his heal. "Alrighty then, I'll look into it. Until then….. Shura." He gave a whimsical glare to her as he passed through the door way.

Sura returned it with an angry glare of her own though it was quickly wasted on the wall. "Damn him… He pisses me off."

Yukio let out a long sigh as he stood up. He then took the papers with him as he went out the door while rubbing one of his shoulders "This whole thing is exhausting…" Shura shrugged as she watched him leave while the thought of Yukio resembling an old man danced through her mind.

* * *

The next morning Rin was awoken by his new boss with a jovial tone. "Come on now Rin, time to get up!" Rin was still rather groggy as he pulled the covers of his futon over his head. Teuchi wasn't about to let him sleep again so he pull the covers off completely which startled Rin in the process.

He grumbled as he sat up rubbing his eyes. "Come on Yukio… its early."

Teuchi gave him a confused look before shaking him awake with one hand. "What happened to boss?"

Rin finally opened his eyes completely to realize he in fact, was not in his dorm. "…..What?"

The confused cook before him merely shook his head. "Time to wake up Rin. Get ready and meet me in the shop. We don't open for an hour but I want you to go somewhere for me okay?"

Rin seemed to space out for a moment as he remembered all that had happened to him yesterday. _That's right… I'm not in Academy Town I'm in…. Konoha?_ He shook his head as if to snap himself out of his own thoughts. "Right…. Sorry Boss." He got up and straightened out his cloths, which he slept in because he had nothing else. Once he had straightened up his appearance he headed out the door and to the shop. Just as he was exiting though, he remembered his tail. _Should I hide it?_ He had completely forgot about it since he never had to at True Cross anymore. He took a minute to think it over and eventually tucked it under his shirt like usual. _I shouldn't take any chances I guess._

After he finished he was on his way. Teuchi caught him right outside the side door and handed him a piece of paper. "Good, you seem awake now. I want you to take this and follow the directions. I have to have an order delivered there later, but I also don't want to leave you in the shop alone. Familiarize yourself with the path so you can get there quickly later on alright." Rin took the paper which he unfolded. It bore a crudely drawn map of several streets with and arrow pointing the way. "Try not to get lost, and if you need directions you can ask some of the other shop keeps around here. Tourists aren't an uncommon sight so I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

Rin nodded as he took the paper and scrutinized it. "Sure thing Boss." His voice didn't have a lot of confidence but it's not like he could screw this up right? (Murphy's Law anyone?)

As if karma was trying to pick a fight with him he got lost only five minutes later. He was eyeing the map in confusion as he walked down one of the semi-busy streets of Konoha. "Aww damn it….. where the hell am I?" He grumbled a bit as he tried to compare the map to his surroundings. He looked back down at the paper as he continued walking and quickly lost track of his position in the middle of the street. He stopped the minute he ran into someone and almost fell back from surprise. "Whoa!" He looked up to the guy he had run into to see a large round man. He looked young though and he had a welcoming demeanor.

"Oh, you okay?" He ran his fingers through his spiky brown hair as he turned to him.

"Uh… yeah sorry about that. I wasn't watching where I was going." He then noticed another young man with him who wore his black hair in a spiky ponytail and had a rather bored expression.

"Hmmm….?" He looked over the new face in curiosity. "I haven't seen you here. You new in the village?"

Rin nodded as he responded. "Yeah I kinda wound up here after I ran into this old couple yesterday."

The round one then noticed the map in his hand and pointed to it. "What's that? A map?"

Rin lifted it up to him. "Uh yeah. My boss wants me to deliver an order later so I'm trying to figure out how to get there."

The black haired teen lifted a brow when he saw it. "Man you're way off."

Rin's expression immediately disheartened. "Awe man! Really?"

The round one gave him a smile and reassured him. "We can help you out right Shikamaru? It's not like we're in any kind of hurry right now anyway."

"I thought you wanted to get there early so Ino wouldn't get mad again."

He quickly reassured his friend. "I'm sure this won't take too long, besides this guy needs help."

Shikamaru was quick to let up any resistance as he sighed. "Fine I guess." He clasped his hands behind his head and turned. "It's this way." He motioned for them to follow.

"Oh wow you guys are great. I thought I'd never find this place."

"No problem. My names Choji by the way, Choji Akimichi." He said as he let out his hand in a friendly gesture.

Rin took it happily as he gave his name. "I'm Rin Okumura."

Shikamaru added in his without even turning to them. "Shikamaru Nara." He gave little else as he guided the way.

Choji then decided to continue on talking to his friend. "Now about what I was saying earlier."

"Yeah but what do I know about what goes good on beef. Salt and Pepper are all it needs."

Choji crossed his arms and shook his head. "No way. If you truly want it to taste good you have to spice it up." Shikamaru sighed and seemed obviously unenthusiastic about the topic they were on. "It comes down to the broth you cook or marinate it in, and then you add the soy sauce, but I want to change it up. I was thinking of what to put on it to try something different."

Rin scratched the side of his face as he listened in on the conversation. He watched as Shikamaru let out another sigh of uninterest. "Uh actually… what cut are you talking about?"

Choji was a bit surprised by their new friend's sudden comment. "What?"

"Well what you put on it depends on the cut most times. Each part can be cooked different ways and depending on that, they could be dry, tender, flakey…." He was listing them out on his fingers as he went.

Choji raised a brow as he lifted one of his hands to his chin. "I guess I really don't know a specific piece."

"Of course there are plenty of combinations that'll work for several cuts. You can at some soy sauce, garlic and ginger. If you want to add a bit of sweetness you can also add sugar and mirin when cooking it. Of course those work best when you broil it on the stove."

Choji rubbed his chin in thought as he turned to face forward. "That sounds good…"

Shikamaru turned with a smile. "There you go Choji. That's more than you'll get out of me."

Choji turned to Rin with a smile of his own. "Thanks. Do you cook or something?"

Rin rubbed the back of his head in a bit of bashfulness. "Oh well yeah.."

"We're here." They both turned to Shikamaru who was pointing to a name plate outside a meager house. "This should be where you're heading right?"

Rin looked down at the address on the paper and then the name plate. "Oh…. Yeah it is! Thanks a lot." He then turned to see the surrounding buildings and head back, but froze when he realized he couldn't remember the way back.

"Are you okay Rin?"

Shikamaru sigh yet again as he scratched the back of his head. "You don't remember how to get back do you?"

Rin instantly started a nervous sweat as he turned his head back to them. "Well um…. No?"

He then crossed his arms in exasperation of how clueless this guy was. Both Choji and Shikamaru were nice enough to guide him back to Ichiraku's Raman shop and Shikamaru was sure to point out easy land marks so Rin could find his way again. "So your boss is Mr. Ichiraku huh?"

Rin gave a pleased nod as the shop came into full view. "Yeah. I'm working there to help him out cause his daughter is out of town or something."

Choji crossed his arms and gave a stern nod. "I guess this explains why you know so much about cooking."

Rin had his hand on the back of his neck as he responded. "Not really. Anyway thanks for showing me the way, I really appreciate it."

Choji and Shikamaru both turned and waved. "No problem and thanks for the cooking tips."

Shikamaru didn't say anything to him as he walked away with Choji. "Man what a drag."

Choji turned to him in confusion. "I kind of liked him."

Shikamaru sighed and looked up. "Yeah, but that cluelessness he has reminds me of Naruto a bit. Like he had no idea what was going on until someone flat out explains it."

Choji gave a light laugh. "You're right now that I think of it, but you liked him too right?"

The black haired teen turned his way. "I guess, but… I don't know, there was something odd about him. I can't really put my finger on it though." Choji decided to go over their time together in his head, but couldn't really see what his friend was talking about.

* * *

**Okay there we go. I hope you enjoyed it and will grace it with a review. I got the cooking stuff from a random search on the internet. If anyone know a good baked chicken recipe I would appreciate you giving it to me. Also, I felt Rin was the type to call his boos Boss ya'know? Also, I so bet that most of you thought he would meet Naruto first especially when I put him at Ichiraku's right? Anyway, this will only be updated if reviewed on. I base my updates on priority so if I get none then I likely forget and focus on the other 3 stories I have in the works. I really only posted this now because I was taking a bit of a break from them to be honest. Please Review and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.=^-^=**


	3. Chapter 3 - One Good Deed Deserves

**Hello readers. I appreciate all who gave responses to the first 2 installments of this crossover. I'm posting again tonight as thanks to those who did. I want to note before you read that it is quite possible I may rearrange a few events to make this work. They won't be big and I may not at all, but I just wanted ya'll to be aware in case I do. Ya'll were warned.=^-^=**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist or Naruto**

**Ch. 3 - One Good Deed Deserves Another**

* * *

Another day passed and Rin was still working hard at the raman shop with no clue as to how he would go about getting back. Mr. Ichiraku was good enough to give him little breaks and he would spend them looking around the village. He would also keep an eye out for Kuro too; if he was here then he would probably come looking for Rin as well. Rin was heading back to the shop after one of these breaks and the minute he made it to the door Teuchi intercepted him. "Oh Rin! Good timing! I need you to make another delivery." He handed Rin his uniform, which only consisted of a hat and an apron with the word Ichiraku on it. "It's the same place as before. Here's the order."

Once Rin had the apron tied he took the delivery and headed out. "I'm on it boss." He was good not to get lost this time around because he was more familiar with the route and was back in around 20 minutes. Once he was back he walked in just in time to see Teuchi receive some letter from a currier.

"Hey, can I get another Miso Ramen with extra pork?"

Teuchi turned to Rin. "Can you grab that Rin? I'll just be a minute."

"Sure thing Boss." Rin went straight to work on the order with expert skill. Once finished he placed down the bowl and plate in front of a young man.

He seemed to be in a very good mood as he thanked him. "Alright thanks!"

He then noticed the headband he was wearing which he came to know represented a ninja. "Hey, you're a ninja?"

The young man nodded as he picked up some noodles and slurped them down. "Yeah… hmm?" The boy looked up towards Rin in curiosity. "I didn't know Mr. Ichiraku had hired someone."

"That's right, you just got back from a mission didn't you?" Teuchi approached with an enthusiastic smile.

"Hey old man."

"How's my favorite customer?"

"Good now that I've had some Raman. So who's the new guy?"

Rin was now taking up a bowl from a customer who had just left. "Oh, that's Rin. He's helping me out while Ayame's gone and I'm letting him stay with me in return. He's been a big help to me and he's a damn good cook too."

The boy seemed confused. "Why's he staying with you? He a tourist?"

Teuchi had to think a moment on how to explain it. He wasn't exactly a tourist, but he was from out of the village. "Well no….. I guess you could say that circumstances brought him here." He began unfolding the letter in his hands. "Anyway, I have to say it was good timing for me in the end." He then proceeded to read the letter.

Rin noticed the smile on his boss's face slowly fall as he read the letter and asked him about it. "You okay Boss?"

Teuchi scratched the back of his head as he sighed. "That guy… he's got some horrible luck…"

Rin stopped what he was doing and queried his boss again. "Who does?"

Teuchi lowered the paper and shook his head. "My younger brother. Ayame was visiting him since he had just set up shop for himself and wouldn't you know it was half destroyed the other day. Apparently there was a powerful storm out his way and it flooded the nearby river through the town."

Rin gave him a sympathetic expression. "Sounds rough….. he's okay right?"

The chef turned to him with a half-smile. "Yeah he's fine. Takes more than a flood to bring him down. The part I'm worried about is that he may need some help. He's never been the kind of guy who's all that lucky in situations like this."

It took Rin a moment to realize exactly what it meant for Teuchi to leave. "Oh….. right."

Teuchi saw the realization on Rin's face and assured him. "Don't worry Rin. I'm sure that Ayame's got it taken care of."

Rin placed a few bowls in the sink before turning back to his boss. He wore a slightly embarrassed expression as he dismissed his problems. "No, you should go help your brother Boss. Don't let me stop you."

Teuchi crossed his arms. "But I can't just leave you out in the cold. You're new here and that wouldn't be right after all the help you gave me."

Rin just gave him a reassuring smile. "It's a big brother's duty to help their younger brother whenever they can with whatever they can. I'll be fine, so don't worry." With that said Rin went over to gather another bowl of finished raman from a customer with a mature smile on his face. The young boy who was eating raman watched him with intrigue. He didn't say anything but he was listening to the conversation just now.

Teuchi sighed knowing full well there would be no changing the boy's mind. "I guess if you have your mind made up… I just don't want you to feel like I'm kicking you out."

"No way, I'm cool with it. My dad used to tell me I should try to do good things with my skills and try to be a good person. That's why I don't want to be the reason you don't help out your brother."

Teuchi pat him on the shoulder and gave him an almost proud smile. "He sounds like a good man. He should be proud."

Rin turned away with a blush but a melancholy expression. "Yeah…" He turned on the water and began washing a few bowls. It was still only mid-day so Teuchi decided to go ahead and head out. The village he was headed to wasn't too far away so if he left now he'd be there a little after nightfall. He closed the shop as soon as their final customer had left and Rin helped him clean.

Rin stepped out the minute he was finished. "Thanks again for letting me stay with you old man."

Teuchi stepped out just after him dressed and packed for his trip. "Old man? I miss Boss already." After locking the door he turned to Rin. "Take care of yourself alright?"

Rin turned and waved to him. "No problem." He turned the corner and quickly left Teuchi's sight.

"That's a good kid. Wish all kids today were as helpful as he is."

* * *

"Damn it! Where did he go?" Bon sat seething with anger at his desk just before cram school started. Shima and Konekomaru were trying whatever they could to calm him down. "Come on Bon, just calm down. Rin wouldn't just up and disappear without a reason right Konekomaru?"

The young teen nodded. "Of course, even he isn't dumb enough to forget his situation with the Vatican and just leave."

All three of them quickly realized that Rin was that kind of person given the right circumstances and a chilling silence fell on them. "W-well, I mean….. maybe he was….. uh." Shima's found his words lost as Yukio entered the room.

Shiem's hand immediately shot up as she asked Yukio a question. "Um… excuse me Yuki…. Has there been any word about Rin?"

Yukio placed his papers at the desk and let out an exasperated sigh. "Unfortunately no there hasn't. No one has seen Rin or Kuro since the day before last."

Shiemi's expression became disheartened as her hand fell. "But if he doesn't show up won't he be…."

She failed to finish, but Yukio knew what she was going to say. "Chances are that if we can't find him, the Vatican will hunt him down and he'll most likely be executed. Of course that would all depend on the circumstances and whether they'll even pay them any mind. Anyway, all questions aside I need to begin class." Yukio's serious tone surprised Shiemi. She had thought he would be more worried about Rin given his situation. She then thought to herself how hard it must be to in Yukio shoes at this moment. She then turned towards Rin's seat with a sad expression as Yukio began talking about various herbs.

* * *

Rin was was now walking down a path outside the market area as thoughts of what to do next flew through his mind. Sure he knew leaving was the right decision, but now he was basically out on the street. "Man….. now what? Sure the idea of being in some ninja village is cool, but being lost is getting kinda old…." He sighed as he looked around at the trees on either side of the walkway. "And I haven't seen a trace of Kuro… probably good I guess. At least he's not lost too."

He spent another hour walking around before he took a load off on a park bench. He looked up towards the sky and saw he had a few hours of daylight left and sat back. His face formed a scowl as he thought about how he even got there in the first place. 'Geez, how the hell did I get here? Why me?' He lowered his head and sighed. "I wonder if Yukio's worried…" He then clicked his tongue. "Or maybe he thinks I've just run off somewhere….."

He leaned back against the wall behind the bench and quickly lost himself in his own thoughts. It wasn't until the sun had set did he finally realize he had fallen asleep. He snapped awake and wiped the drool from his chin. "Huh?" He looked down at his arm and then up at the star filled sky. "Damn it….. must've fallen asleep." He stretched a bit and stood up. He then turned to look around a bit. The village was pretty well lit up in most places.

He then turned around to head back up the path, but stopped cold when he noticed his path was blocked by a young man. "Hey!" He said with a smile on his face. "It took me a bit of searching, but I finally found you."

Rin knew he had seen this guy before but… where? He turned his head in confusion. "Uh….. who are you?"

The boy's smile went to a frown as he adjusted the ninja headband he was wearing. "Come on. I was at Ichiraku's for lunch."

Rin crossed his arms and thought a moment. "Oh…. The ninja. The old man said you were his favorite customer right?"

The boy placed his hands on his hips. "Yeah that's me."

Rin wore a smile before another question popped into his head. "But why were you looking for me? I don't even know your name….."

The young man crossed his arms and raised a brow. "I heard you and old man Ichiraku talking earlier and about how you were staying with him. When I came by for some dinner the place was closed so I figured he'd already left."

Rin nodded. "Yeah he left about 30 minutes after you were there I think. He wanted to get a head start since it was only mid-day."

The ninja turned his head with a bit of a grumble. "Well I guess that means no Ichiraku for a few days…" He then turned back to Rin. "So I guess that means you don't have any place to go since the old man left huh?"

Rin turned to the side as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…. I guess I don't. He he… I guess I should have thought it out a little bit more."

"No way! I thought you were pretty nice. You didn't even think twice about yourself and that makes you alright in my book. That's why I came looking for you."

Rin gave him a blank stare. "Wait….. what? You came looking for me…. Why?"

"Well, I figured you could stay at my place for the night. A nice guy like you deserves that much."

Rin's surprise was obvious as he struggled a bit to respond. "W-wait… really!? You mean it!?"

The young man wore a grand smile. "Well, yeah. Besides, you're new here right? I doubt you have any other options." He then put forth his hand. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki, and your Rin right?"

Rin quickly took his hand. "Yeah, Rin Okumura. Thanks a lot. You're a pretty nice guy yourself!" The orange clad ninja quickly took the lead as he guided his new house guest towards his residence. "You sure me staying is alright? I don't want to get you in trouble with your family."

Naruto waved his comment off. "No worries. I live alone anyway."

Rin was genuinely surprised by that as his eyes widened. "So you're…."

Naruto noticed his concern but he had come to terms with his own situation by this point. "Yeah, but don't worry about it. Speaking of parents though, I remember you saying something about your dad right? He's probably worried about you right?"

Rin's expression fell a bit as he turned to the side. His hands made their way to his pockets as he responded. "Well he would be…"

The ninja gave him a sympathetic expression. "Oh…. Well sorry about that. Didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."

Rin was quick to dismiss it. "No, it's my fault for bringing it up. Anyway, I just really appreciate what you're doing for me. I know you didn't have to help me out. I wish there was a way to repay you though."

Naruto stopped and thought for a moment before a grin found its way to his face. He turned to Rin with a smile. "I got an idea actually. Old ma Ichiraku said you were an awesome cook."

Rin nodded. "Yeah… I guess."

"Well I was planning on having some Ichiraku for dinner cause I didn't want to go to the store today. I think maybe cooking something up for dinner would be a fair trade right?"

* * *

In the forest just outside the village a small figure could be seen running through the trees. It sprang from tree to tree under the moonlight. Its yellow-green eyes glowed in the shadows as it approached ever near the great walls of Konaha. "_Rin! Gotta find Rin!"_ The small creature looked back behind itself as it landed on a tree branch. "_Those strange humans….. Did I lose them?"_ It then continued on, not letting its guard down long enough to find out whether it was right or not.

* * *

Back with Rin and Naruto, they had just arrived at the young ninja's house. "It's a bit messy, so sorry about that." Naruto said as he opened the door.

Rin walked in with a bag in his hand full of what would be their dinner. "It's alright. It wouldn't be right to complain. My room's always pretty messy too." Rin took his shoes off at the door and headed in followed by Naruto. Like he said there were a few pieces of clothing and several empty cup raman strewn around the place. "Wow….. you really like raman don't you? It looks like that's all you eat."

Naruto picked up a shirt from the floor. "Yeah well, it's easy and it tastes good."

Rin couldn't help but let out a laugh. This wouldn't be the first person he's met with a strange love of instant food. "Anyway, where can I set up?" Naruto let him over to the small kitchen area he had in the place. After showing him where everything was he headed over to a closet to pull out a guest futon.

Once Naruto was finished he headed over to check on his guest who was frying rice. "Wow, that smells really good Rin."

Rin was mixing the rice around with the pan by shaking it a bit with practiced precision. "Thanks." He then moved to add the sliced vegetables he had cut up before he started frying the rice. "Fried rice isn't all that fancy, but it is cheap and easy."

Naruto then noticed something sticking out the bottom of Rin's shirt. A little bit of black fuzz was poking out just above his right back pocket. "What? Het Rin you got some black fuzzy stuff stuck to your shirt…"

He reached down to pull it off, but Rin was quick to swat his hand away. "Wait… just leave it alone…"

Naruto gave him a confused look before trying again. "Its alright just let me get it….." This time he succeded in grabbing it but froze when he pulled out a large puff of black hair from under Rin's shirt. What's more is that it seemed very attached to something much longer.

Rin dropped the pan once he felt the pull though he was lucky only a bit of it spilled out. "No! Stop!"

Naruto squinted at the tail like object in his hand. "Uh Rin… what is this?"

Rin had an overwhelming feeling of dread as the situation now presented itself. He took a moment to think over his options a bit, but quickly realized there would be much point in lying and he wasn't a very good liar anyway. "Umm… well….. you see." He lifted his shirt a bit and untwisted his tail from around his torso. "It's kinda my tail…."

Naruto's eyes grew wide as he posed his next question. "W-why do you have a tail?"

Rin rubbed the back of his head and put up a smile forced smile on his face. "I'm sort of half demon so… yeah…. That's why…" Naruto's surprised expression was expected, but what Rin didn't expect was that he didn't really look afraid. There was a silence between the two of them until Rin smelled the rice start to burn. "Oh crap!" He jumped over and stirred the rice again. He looked down towards the tail that was now freely swinging at his feet. "Sorry…" He took the pan off the stove and poured the contents onto two plates. When he turned back to Naruto the surprised expression was gone and a look of deep thought replaced it. "Uh….. Naruto?"

Naruto snapped out of it looked over to Rin. "Oh sorry, I was just thinking about something."

Rin seemed confused by his reaction. He'd been expecting… well something else. "So….. it's okay with you?"

Naruto raised a brow. "What the tail? Yeah….. I guess. I've seen plenty of weirder things to be honest. As for you being half demon well, you're a nice guy so I really don't think that matters." Of course Naruto knew all too well what it feels like to be judged without pretense. He wasn't about to make that mistake with such a good guy.

Rin handed him a plate with a grin on his face. "Thanks… the last few times I've dropped that on someone it didn't go over all that well. It feels nice to have that off my chest though, it gets pretty annoying having to keep it under my shirt all the time." T

he two of them spent the rest of the night talking. Rin told him about True Cross, where he was from, and how he was looking for his cat Kuro. Naruto would trade back by talking about the village and a few of the ninja in it. They seemed to get along pretty well all things considered and even had a fair amount in common. They eventually did go to sleep with Rin taking the futon just by the bed. Rin laid back with his hands behind his head as he thought of what must be going on back at True Cross in the time he'd been missing.

* * *

**Okay, and there you have it. The last scenes were the hardest to write cause I was basing them solely on personality traits. While Rin had no problems taking in someone else with nowhere to go, case point the Blue Exorcist movie, I wasn't all that sure about Naruto. I basing this idea on the Sora filler arch from the anime where Sora stayed with Naruto. Besides Naruto is a genuinely kind hearted guy so it seemed easy enough to have him help Rin out. I also noticed in the beginning of writing this story how much the two of them had in common so I figured they'd get along pretty well. As for Naruto's reaction to Rin's unique situation, being a Jinchuriki made me feel like he'd have a more open perspective to it. I apologize for any OOC-ness with them! If you liked it or hated it please say so in a REVIEW! The response for this story means the difference of waiting 2 months or 2 weeks for an update.=^-^=**


	4. Chapter 4 - It's Never Easy Is It?

**Hi! I got more reviews for this chapter! 'cheering and singing in my head right now' Anyway, thank you all for the favs, watches and reviews! I love it when I get them so much I start typing again! I happy to give this 4th ch in my cross over story! Enjoy.**

**Ch. It's never easy... is it?**

* * *

Morning came quietly in Konoha as the vigilant Gate guards greeted those coming into the village. They are required to keep a roster and to check the goods of all those coming in as would be obvious. "You remember that kid?" Izumo asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"You mean Rin?"

"Yeah, I heard he was working for Teuchi Ichiraku."

Kotetsu looked at him with his brow raised. "Really? Wonder what he's doing now then? I heard Teuchi left the village for family reasons yesterday around noon."

Izumo seemed surprised as he stood up. "Hmm…. I wonder. Old man Hiro and his wife already left….." He then made his way to greet 3 interestingly dressed people. The one in front had long black hair, a monk's khakkhara (Ringed staff) and a traditional priest robe. The man to his left held a vajra, wore relatively colorful priest robe, ans a wooden mask. The third was a woman dressed as a shrine maiden and held a tree branch with paper tied around it.

Izumo was quite surprised at the group as he proceeded with his standard duties. "Hello, what business do you have in Konoha?"

The stern man in front pulled a rectangular envelop from his robe and handed it to the man. "We are exorcists under the order of the feudal lord. We are pursuing a demon we believe to have entered your village."

Kotetsu rose to look over the order with Izumo. "Alright, this looks to be in order." Kotetsu then looks toward the group. "Will you be needing anything during your stay here?"

The priest shook his head. "We have made arrangements." He then took the letter back from Izumo and headed into the village with the other two following silently.

"Exorcists?" Izumo scratched his head. "You don't see those every day."

Kotetsu nodded in agreement. "Makes me wonder, what kind of demon are they looking for? I haven't heard of anything strange happening in the village recently."

Izumo shrugged and headed back to the station. "I'm sure we'll hear about it if its anything serious."

* * *

"So this is him?" Naruto scrutinized the paper in his hands. He tried turning it and squinting to try and make out the crudely drawn picture. "A….. rabbit?" Rin grabbed the paper away and pointed at it. "No! Kuro is a cat!... Crap I wish I could draw….." He sighed. "Bon is so lucky!" He looked down at the kindergarten grade drawing and then proceeded to ball it up.

"We could just ask around? A two tailed cat is sure to be noticed by at least one person right?" Naruto said as he made his way to the door.

"I guess….. though not a lot of people notice him back home." Rin was quick to hide his tail as he followed his host out the door. They then spent the next hour asking random villagers about a two-tailed cat they may have seen. It didn't take long to notice how open a lot of the people were with Naruto. Most of the ones who were seemed friendly were to the point of it being unreal.

Rin watched as yet another woman bowed her head and apologized for not seeing the cat in question. "Well that's a no." Naruto said as he started to feel a bit frustrated.

Rin shrugged. "I guess maybe he's not here after all. Maybe he got lucky and didn't wind up in this weird place with me."

Naruto wore a frown as he responded. "Hey, don't call my village weird! Anyway, finding one cat in this place is a lot harder than you'd think. When I first became a ninja I was given this one crappy mission where I had to catch some lady's cat. That thing was a veteran at getting away. It took us hours to catch it."

Rin laughed at the outrageous story. "Man that sounds like it sucked. Not to mention as an Exwire I get my share of crappy missions. You know Kuro's not a pushover either, and he doesn't run away from a fight worth fighting. "

Naruto folded his hands behind his head. "When you fight demons right?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah, Kuro's awesome. We're partners!"

Naruto wore a grin as he turned to Rin. "You guys sound like Kiba and Akamaru. Kiba's a ninja like me and he has a ninja hound, Akamaru."

Rin turned to him with a sparkle in his eyes. "Wait, a ninja hound!? That sounds awesome!"

Naruto was a bit confused by his enthusiastic reaction but played it off. "Yeah well, Kakashi sensei has like…. 9 of 'em."

Rin stopped in his tracks. "Wait, 9!? Holy crap! I gotta see that!"

Naruto simply laughed until they both heard a bark from behind them followed by a shout. "_RIN!" _ Rin instantly turned to see Kuro running towards him at full speed followed by a dog and a young man. The dog was very large and had mostly white fur with a bit of brown on the ears. The young man wore a ninja headband, had messy brown hair and had red markings on his face.

Rin's eyes almost watered with joy at seeing his buddy run up to him. "Kuro!"

Kuro jumped into his arms and after a little greeting proceeded to tell Rin about a million things at once. "_Rin! Where were you? Where are we!? I got lost! I was chased by these weird humans! I was attacked with a broom!" _

"Calm down Kuro." Rin pleaded. "I can't take all that at once."

Kuro's eyes then began to water as he looked up at Rin. "_I missed you!"_

"So that's your cat?" The young man asked as both he and the dog finally caught up.

"Hey Kiba." Said Naruto as he waved.

Kiba hadn't seemed to notice him until he spoke. "Oh, hey Naruto. Sorry, didn't notice you were with him." He then turned back towards the unfamiliar boy. "So he is your cat right?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah, his name is Kuro. Did you find him?"

Kiba pointed to the dog. "Nah, Akamaru did. At first he was barking at the cat in some bushes, but before I knew it we were looking for you."

Kuro gestured his paw towards the dog. "_Yeah this one helped me out. When I met him he seemed angry, but after I explained my situation he seemed nice enough and helped me find you Rin."_

Rin then bowed in thanks to Kiba. "Thanks for helping Kuro out." He stood up straight again to continue. "Me and Naruto were just out looking for him, though I wasn't sure if he would even be around here."

Kiba waved off the praise. "It was nothing, right Akamaru?" Akamaru barked as if to reciprocate the comment.

The realization finally hit Rin that Naruto had just been talking about these two. "Oh! Wait, Kiba and Akamaru!" He turned to Naruto. "You were just telling me about these guys."

Naruto nodded. "Kiba, this is my friend Rin, and he's new around here. He works for Mr. Ichiraku but since he's out of town right now, I was helping him out." Naruto decided against giving out too much information right off the bat. If Rin wants him to know then he'll tell them. Kuro then proceeded to climb up onto Rin's head and laid down.

"New huh? Where're you from?"

Rin, who was looking up at Kuro as he pawed at his hair, gave an absent minded answer. "True Cross Academy in Academy Town."

Kiba looked at him in confusion for a bit before turning to Naruto. "Never heard of it…." He gave his fellow ninja a confused glance as he gestured to Rin.

Naruto shrugged. "You got me."

Rin, now back in reality noticed the exchange. "I know you've probably never heard of it. Nobody else has either. Then again, I never knew a giant village full of ninjas existed, so yeah."

Kiba now looked extremely skeptical. "What the… You're kidding right?"

"Nope." Naruto answered. "I had to explain the whole system to him last night."

Rin sighed. "I don't even know how I got here."

Kiba simply nods in a ridged manner before he grabs Naruto and walks a ways away. He huddles away from Rin as he whispers to Naruto. "Okay….. where did you get this guy. He sounds crazy."

Naruto sighs and responds. "I told you he was working for Ichiraku. I only met him last night."

Meanwhile poor Rin was left just standing around waiting for them to finish talking. "_What are they doing Rin?"_

"I don't know…. Talking?" He scratched the back of his head as he watched them from afar. "Geez…" Rin let out a sigh as he looked up to Kuro. "Well, I found you….. now all we have to do is figure a way back to True Cross."

"_Yeah!"_ Kuro yelled with enthusiasm as he pointed a paw in the air. His ears then perked up as he turned to the side. There was now a man staring at him just to the left of Rin. "_Whoa!"_ He shouted in surprise and almost fell off of Rin's head. Rin turned to see the man. He had grey, broom like hair and his headband covered one of his eyes. He also wore a cover over his mouth and nose.

"H-Hello?" Rin said with a raised brow.

"Hi." Was the quick and snappy response he got. He then continued to look at the cat with an emotionless half lidded stare.

"_C-Cut it out! Its creepy!"_ Kuro shouted though the man could never understand.

"Kuro says to stop staring at him…. He doesn't like it."

The man seemed surprised and apologized with what looked like a smile. "Oh, sorry about that."

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto called out as he made his way over and out of Kiba's grasp.

"Hey Naruto. This guy a friend of yours?" He asked as he pointed towards the demon pair.

"Yeah." He stood beside Rin and gestured to him. "This is Rin Okumura."

Rin rubbed the back of his head. "Nice to meet you Mr. Kakashi."

He then turned to Rin. "This is Kakashi Sensei. He's the leader of my team."

"Hi there, sorry about staring, but I just thought your cat was interesting. Is that a split tail?"

Naruto raised a brow and looked at Kuro. "I didn't even notice it. I completely forgot you said he had two tails."

Rin nodded. "Yeah, his name's Kuro."

Kakashi gave the cat a smile. "Sorry about that Kuro."

"So what are you doing Kakashi sensei?" Kiba asked, reinserting himself into the conversation.

"Oh, well I was on my way to meet with a team that's about to head out. Lady Tsunade asked me to join it last minute."

"Anything big going on? It's not normal to have last minute additions like that."

He gave him his best poker face as he waved it off. "Oh, nothing big. She just felt having a good tracking ninja on it would be a good idea. The group we're after has been pretty slippery."

Naruto seemed interested but not enough to put up any kind fight about it. "Man, I guess we're on standby till you back then huh?"

Kakashi turned to him with a sympathetic look. "Probably, but you should enjoy the break. Especially after all that's happened recently." Naruto gave a nod but with a slightly sour look on his face. It was precisely those recent events that made it hard for him to sit still. What could he do though? It's not like he knew where Sasuke was. "Anyway, see you later Naruto. Try not to stir up trouble." He then continued on with an interesting thought on his mind. He'd been told about that boy by Lady Tsunade. According to their information he showed up in the Village a few days ago and he's been under surveillance ever since. They also can't seem to figure out any other information about him or where he came from.

Rin scratched his head a bit as he watched the man leave. "Speaking of tracking, your dog must be pretty good if he could find me without ever smelling me before huh?" Rin said with a smile as he looked back at Akamaru.

Kiba crossed his arms and nodded. "Of course he can. All it takes is a small trace like the one Akamaru got off that key to find you. Don't underestimate a Ninja Hound's nose."

Rin gave a nod of agreement but stopped after only a moment. "Wait…. Key?"

"_Yeah! I have a key that you always keep with you."_ Kuro pulled it out of his collar where he kept it so he wouldn't drop it. He held it down to Rin in his teeth. "_See?"_

Rin squinted at the key a moment before his eyes widened. "The Cram School key!" He grabbed it right out of the cat's mouth with excitement that surprised both ninja and hound. "Yes! I can't believe it!"

Naruto scrutinized the key in his hand. "What's so great about this key?" K

iba then lowered his head to get a good look as well. "Yeah…. It looks like some ordinary key to me…. If not a bit flashy."

Rin started looking around for a suitable door as he explained. "No this key is special. It's given to the Exorcist Cram School students and it gives them access to the building from anywhere….. at least that's how it's supposed to work. Now that I think about it though, I wonder if it'll work at all. I mean, I'm not even in Japan anymore."

"_Try it Rin! Try it!"_ Kuro encouraged as he pat down on Rin's head from above.

"Exorcist?"

Naruto decided to fill him in since Rin seemed preoccupied looking for something. "Yeah, he's something called an Exwire which is a student Exorcist. They go around battling demons and stuff."

Kiba gave him a skeptical expression. "Are you kidding me?"

Rin turned to him with the same expression. "Hey, I'm in the middle of a Ninja village, and you're a ninja. That sounds way weirder than Exorcists and demons." He then gave a laugh. "I guess it can be rather hard to believe though. I used to be a skeptic too until…." He stopped mid-sentence and hesitation could be heard in his voice before he continued. "Well, I had a bit of a rude awakening to that." He then brightened his expression with a bit of a forced smile. "Anyway, I'm going to try out my key on that door." He pointed to what looked to be some kind of storage house behind a shop nearby.

Once Rin had walked away Kiba decided to ask Naruto another question. "Isn't exorcism something usually done by priests and monks? I don't know about you but he doesn't look like a monk in training."

Naruto shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with the True Cross place he's from?"

They both watched as Rin stood in front of the door a few yards away. He was hesitant to attempt it, but in the end he pressed the key in and turned the knob. When he opened the door his expression was that of surprise. He wasn't staring into a storage room but the Cram School hall way. "No way….. It really worked!?"

Both Naruto and Kiba rushed over with Akamaru on their heels. "What worked? The key?" Naruto looked over his shoulder at the strangely colorful hallway and then traded a glance at the equally surprised Kiba. "This….. is your Cram School?"

Rin's smile continued to grow as he responded. "Yeah! Th-this….. is my ticket home!"

Kuro jumped for joy on his friend's head. "_Yeah, home!"_

"Am I the only one thinking this is… crazy?!" Kiba said turning to see Naruto's surprise had dwindled.

"Well…. I guess I didn't really believe him either until….. well we talked a bit more. This key thing is amazing though. It's like a some crazy ninjutsu that can teleport you."

"Only with a key." Kiba dead paned. He then reached forward into the room to see if it was really real. As soon as his hand passed through the threshold he retracted it immediately. "Whoa! Its real!"

Rin started to get even more excited. He then moved to take a step forward. Unfortunately, he was cut off during his second step just as he was about to pass through the door. It was as if some invisible wall was placed up in it. He regained his composer and rubbed his nose a bit since he had smacked it into the invisible wall. "What the…." He lifted a hand to reach through, but just like when he walked it stopped right before the threshold. His eyes widened and he placed another hand up on the force field. "Come on!"

Kuro decided to test it out and jumped right on through with no resistance at all. "_Whoa…."_ He looked around and he was able to confirm for himself that he was indeed in the Cram School hallway. "_What's wrong Rin? Come on."_

"Damn it! Its like there's a wall right here and I can't see it!"

Naruto looked at him in confusion and walked through. He was able to do it rather easily and came back to the Konoha side. "Well it didn't stop me."

"Or me. I was the first one to try it." Kiba added in. "So whatever it is only seems to effect Rin."

Rin slumped down the ground. "Aw come on….. why me?"

* * *

**Because its never that easy Rin! anyway, poor Rin right? Home's right there in front of him and he still can't reach it. On another note, this is the first real cliff hanger I've put into the story though there isn't any real drama... not till later anyway. Hope ya'll enjoyed my latest installment and will tell me in a Review! Remember kiddies, reviews mean the difference between waiting a week or a month... or two for the next chapter!=^-^=**


	5. Chapter 5 - A Foul Confrontation

**Hi! Sorry it took me so long but my other stories hold a higher priority than this for the time being. At least you didn't wait a whole month right? Anyway you get a bit of action in this one so enjoy.=^-^=**

**Ch. 5 - A Foul Confrontation**

* * *

The three of them seemed to just stand around the otherworld portal contemplating exactly what it meant. Anyone could go through except Rin? Even though Rin was from there initially, and Kuro but Kuro could go through fine as well. Kiba scratched his head. "Well I got nothing. It makes no sense to me."

"Like it does to me?" Naruto responded. They both turned to Rin who seemed to be thinking a little too hard. Kuro stared down at him from the top of his head in confusion.

"_Rin?"_ He waved his paw in front of the boy's face but got no response.

Naruto waved his hand to mimic Kuro and Rin yelled in frustration. "Damn this makes no sense!" He said as he rubbed his hands through his hair and making Kuro hang on for dear life. He then sighs and crosses his arms in a bit of exasperation. "I can already hear Yukio giving me an earful for being gone this long. Now I have a way back but it won't let me through."

"_Maybe it doesn't like you Rin."_

Rin half ignored the coment before abruptly grabbing Kuro off of his head. "But it likes you!" He turned him around to face the door. "You can go through and get someone else to come to the door. Go get Yukio or Bon or anyone you can find alright?" Kuro cocked his head to the side before nodding. Rin beamed at his stroke of genius before setting Kuro down and he hurried off through the door.

Kiba crossed his arms and wore a confused look. "So Rin…. How is Kuro going to bring anyone here if all he does is meow at them? Is anybody gonna be able to figure out what he's saying?"

Rin froze at the idea and turned back to him. "…..Probably not….." He scratched the side of his cheek. "It's better than nothing though right?"

"I guess one of us could have gone through." Naruto suggests which is quickly turned down by Rin.

"No, but thanks for the offer. First of all, the cram school building has a confusing layout and you might get lost and second you might run into one of Mephisto's traps. Yukio told me the only way through a trap is by using one of the keys or knowing exactly where to go."

He wore a semi-confident expression as he explained it and Kiba gave him an odd look. "Your school is booby trapped? That sounds pretty extreme for a temple…"

Rin cocked his head in confusion. "Temple? What are you talking about? True Cross Academy is a school not a temple. The Cram School is connected by a bunch of underground passages or something. Though there are a few temples nearby I guess."

"But you're an Exorcist in training right? Don't monks do that sort of thing?"

Rin shook his head. "Well yeah, but not just monks. The Knights of the True Cross is supposed to be a whole bunch of different kinds of people." He scratched the back of his head as he thought. "I don't know to be completely honest, I don't always listen when Yukio explains this stuff." He gave a sheepish laugh and a grin to match. Kiba gave him a rather dissatisfied grunt in return but didn't push the subject too much more.

* * *

Kuro was dashing down the silent hall while being sure to look into every open room he could. He kept his ears open for any faint talking which could guide him to his quarry. "_Where is everyone?"_ He turned down another hall and continued searching. At some point it began to seem as though he was going in circles and he could barely remember where he came from. "_Why is this place so big!?"_

"Hey is that Kuro?"

"You mean Rin's familiar?" Kuro turned to see the source of the voices. He laid eyes on two boys. One was rather short and wore glasses and the other was much taller with pink hair.

"Yeah, wasn't he missing?"

"_Rin's friends!"_ Kuro dashed for them almost madly and started to shout. "_You gotta help Rin! Follow me! He can't come through!" _

The smaller boy kneeled down. "It seems as though he's worried about something…. What do you think Shima?"

Shima responded with a lack luster attitude. "You're the cat expert. If you're asking me, he just looks hungry."

Kuro jumped at the mention. _"Oh yes! I want food!"_

Shima folds his hands behind his head. "See he got all happy at the sound of food."

"I guess…." Konekomaru then unlatched his bag and pulled out a small wrapped container. "I still have a bit of my lunch left over if you want it." He untyed the the cloth and lifted the top to reveal a piece of chicken and a small bit of rice."

Kuro beamed at the food as drool fell down from his lips. "_Yummy!"_ He scarfed it down ravenously as the two boys watched.

"What are you guys doing?" Both boys turn to greet their friend.

"Hey Bon. We were just feeding Rin's cat."

Koneko watched as the cat had already gotten down to the last bite. "He must've been starving too. I guess he didn't have anyone to feed while Rin's been missing."

Kuro's ears perked as he swallowed his last bite. "_Wait… RIN!" _

Bon came over to see the cat who was now meowing wildly. "Guess he's still hungry."

"_NO! You have to follow me to Rin!"_

Bon simply joined his friends in watching the cat yowl in confusion. Bon then decided he'd had enough and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Come on guys, let's go. We're gonna be late if we stick around here too long." The other two boys quickly followed making Kuro just a bit mad about being ignored. He dashed in front of them, but when they simply walked past again he knew it was time for some desperate measures.

He jumped at the first ankle he could and bit down. "YEOCH!" Bon looked down at the familiar as it held its jaws in place. "Damn cat. What's your problem!?" Kuro let go and dashed off down the hall. He stopped and turned to look at the boys to see if they follow. A vein was visible on Bon's head as he watched the cat run off. "What the hell?"

"You think something might be up with him?" Konekomaru watched as Kuro spun in a circle and then looked back at them. "Either its baiting you or it wants you to follow it."

Bon crossed his arms. "I don't know, but that cat is definitely asking for it. I'm gonna go get it." He then turned to his two friends. "You guys let Mr. Okumura know why I'm gonna be late. If there is something wrong with the cat, that could mean he's dangerous. It could be because Rin isn't here." Bon then took off down the hall to Kuro's delight. The cat jumped up and then continued on, gradually leading Bon to the open portal.

* * *

Rin squatted by the door watching for Kuro's return. Kiba leaned towards the doorway and squinted. "Its been like…. 20 minutes right? You think he's actually coming back?"

Rin answered without turning around. "Yeah of course. Why wouldn't he?"

" I don't know but do you really think it should take this long to find someone?"

Rin turned his head to the side as if to think. "Well…. I guess, but the cram school should be starting soon so he's bound to find someone."

"I just hope we're not here all day." Naruto said in a slight grumble.

"Hey! Naruto!" The orange clad ninja turns to see another young ninja in green, wearing his headband around his waist. His bowl-cut hair was a stark black color that matched his bushy eye-brows. He was ahead of his two companions as he rushed over to greet his friend.

"Hey Bushy Brow, what's up?"

He stopped right next to Naruto with a happy grin. "We just got back from a mission. Guy Sensei is filing the report right now."

"Hey Naruto." The girl who was behind the boy said. "And Lee, how can you keep going like that? We practically ran all the way back to the village because of you."

Lee shook his head with his arms crossed. "Tenten, do you not remember what Guy Sensei is always telling us? The power of youth can move anything!" He said as a fire burned in his eyes. The girl sighed in response while shaking her head in defeat.

"What exactly are you and Kiba up to?" The third asked from the back. He turned a scrutinizing glance toward Kiba and the boy kneeling down next to him.

Kiba turned with a wave. "We're waiting for Rin's cat to come back….. that's this guy here." He said as he gestured to the boy staring intently into the doorway.

He tapped his shoulder and Rin snapped out of the space gaze and looked over to the new guests. "Huh? Oh hi I'm Rin." He said as he stood up.

"Oh yeah, check this out Bushy Brow." Naruto said as he pulled him over to the door way. "Rin just used his weird key to open this door. It leads to some place called True Cross."

Lee looked into the door in curiosity. "Hmmm? This is probably the weirdest hallway I've ever seen. Take a look Neji."The taller boy stepped forward past Rin, watching him with interest as he passed him.

"Isn't this a storage room?" Tenten asked as she approached as well.

"Yeah, but the key opens it to True Cross. I can use it to open the cram school in True Cross from any door." Rin explains as he turns back to the door with an expectant expression.

Neji was now standing by the door examining the key he talked about. "This key is behind it?" He asked.

"Yeah. You can take it out if you want. The doorway won't go back until the door closes."

Neji followed the suggestion and took to inspecting the key before looking over to the doorway again. After a moment the veins around his eyes started to become more defined and he could see movement. "I think someone is coming."

Rin's expression turned exited at the prospect and he leaned on the invisible wall that kept him out. "Kuro must have found someone." It didn't take long for Kuro to become visible in the long hall. "_RIN! I found one of your friends!" _Kuro shouted as he happily charged for his owner. "Good job Kuro!" Less than a second after Rin yelled he could hear harsh and quick paced footsteps coming from behind the Cat Sidhe. "Hmmm?"

"Okumura!" Yelled Bon as he charged down the hall towards the half demon. Stress had built up in the teenager due to Rin's disappearance and now he could finally let it out. Rin's excitement quickly melted to slit panic as he saw the furious expression on his friends face. The teen dashed past Kuro who had to stop out of surprise.

Rin backed away a bit and wore panicked, confused expression. "Suguro?" Before he could say anything else Bon had his head and slammed his skull into the half demon's forehead with all he could muster. When he let go Rin stumbled back a bit into Naruto who was trying to catch him. "Whoa! Hey man, what was that for!?" Rin yelled as he regained his balance.

Bon was rubbing his head where there was now a red welt from his head-butt. "Figure it out genius. You've been missing for days!" His anger merged with confusion as he noticed more of his surroundings. "Exactly where are we?" He raised a brow at the unfamiliar company.

Before any more questions could be asked, however, Akamaru started to bark angrily. He bared his teeth in a growl at a trio of strangers that approached them. A woman was at the lead dressed as a priestess. "_Rin! It's those weird humans who chased me!"_ Kuro shouted as he hopped atop Rin's head jamming an accusatory paw at the strangers. Rin looked up with a question. "Strange humans?"

Bon was glaring at them and was especially interested in the woman that was leading them. He leaned over to Rin and whispered. "Hey… I think they're exorcists."

Rin turned to him with a brow raised. "Why would you say that?... though they kinda look like they're from a temple."

Bon shook his head in a bit of exasperation. "Geez… Do you know anything or are you acting this way on purpose?" He then pointed towards the woman. "You see the woman? That plant in her hand, its used to dowse the location of demons."

Rin's eyes widened. "Wait really?"

"Just what are you two whispering about over there?" Neji asked with a wary tone. He was more than a bit suspicious of the two boys especially since one of them arrived in such an unusual manner.

"What's it to you?" Bon asked in his usual angry tone. He was usually sensible, but his stress level has been a bit high recently so it was easy to set him off at this point.

"Excuse me?" Neji responded in a smug tone.

The two of them shared a glare before Rin tried to break it up. "Come on Bon, calm down." He said as he pulled the teen from his glaring match. "Look, I didn't leave on purpose Suguro. I kinda… just ended up here."

Suguro narrowed his eyes at the half assed explanation. "Are you kidding me Okumura?"

"Well it's a bit more complicated than that you see we're-" He was cut off by another loud bark from Akamaru. Akamaru continued a low growl as he stepped forward now easily loud enough to call their attention once again.

"What's up Akamaru?" Kiba asked his companion as he watched the exorcists draw ever near.

Naruto looked to Akamaru and then to the strangers. "You think it's those guys?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah….. I'm getting a bad vibe from'em too."

"I have to agree." Neji added in with a serious expression that's common for him.

They were only a few yards away when the woman stopped and turned to the older man. "I have located the demon Master." She then turned back to the group and pointed to Rin. "There."

Rin was taken aback at the accusation and took a slight step back. "What the…"

The older man moved forward with an unforgiving glare. "I must ask that you children step back. There is a demon amongst you and we have come to slay it."

Kiba furrowed his brow and his expression seemed to match a few of his friend's. "What the heck? What are you going on about? There isn't any demon here." He then turned to Naruto. "I think these guys are weirder than Rin."

Suguro took a passing glance to see the nervous expression on Rin. "These guys look like they mean business Okumura."

He nodded, gaining a bit of his composure back. "Yeah….. I think they're after Kuro though." He said as he didn't take his eyes off the trio.

"Kuro?" Suguro questioned.

"Yeah, Kuro told me earlier that he was chased by these guys before we finally met up again."

Suguro raised a brow as he turned back to Rin. "And they tracked him for how long? I mean Kuro's pretty fast, I can't imagine trying to catch him if he took off running you know?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah."

The older man then cleared his throat and repeated himself with more clarity. "I told you all to disperse! I do not wish to drag humans into our fight with the demon."

Lee stepped forward this time with a more calm composure. "Excuse me, but what demon are you talking about? I do not see one."

The old man shook his head and then pointed to Rin. "Don't let its innocent appearance fool you. There stands a demon and they won't hesitate to strike you down should you give them the chance."

Kuro then started to yell at the man which came out as a hiss to all but Rin. "_No I won't! What do you know about me you weird human!"_ Rin looked up to his furry friend. "Calm down Kuro. I know how you feel but don't let him bait you." Suguro seemed surprised by Rin's words. Rin has never been all too sensible in these situations….. usually he tried yelling first.

Naruto was next to step forward."What are you talking about? Rin isn't like that! How dare you talk that way about him!" His anger was obvious but not to the point where he would fly off the handle…. Not yet anyway.

The man scoffed at him. "I'm not referring to the boy, but the creature upon his head." At that Naruto seemed confused.

Kuro just became more agitated and was now standing on Rin's head with hairs of his back on end. "_Leave me alone!"_ Rin grabbed Kuro from his head and tried to calm him down again. "Chill Kuro."

Naruto turned to the cat, a movement mimicked by the rest of the group. "Kuro's a demon?" He asks in confusion.

Rin responds with a sheepish smile. "Yeah….. he's a cat…. A cat… hmmm?"

"He's a Cat Sidhe numbskull. You really should remember what kind of demon your familiar is." Suguro retorted with his typical annoyed expression.

"Yeah, what he said." Rin said as he pointed to Bon.

Lee leaned his head down to the irate cat with confusion. "But it looks like any old cat to me."

Suguro crossed his arms. "Cat Sidhe are demons who posses cats. If they live long enough they can even develop a split tail like Kuro's."

"Yes, a demon indeed." The old priest retorted. He then snapped his fingers. "Kaname, the purification salt!"

"Yes master!"

The older man then turned back to the group of teens. "I have given you all fair warning. I will be slaying that demon and I will not let you get in my way." The younger priest wearing a wooden mask stepped forward with a bowl of salt. He took up a handful causing Rin to step back. He actively dodged when the spray of salt fell on him.

He didn't get completely out of the way as both Rin and Kuro began rub at their eyes due to the salt. "_My eyes!"_ Kuro complained. "Damn it!" Rin cursed as he kept one watery eye open while rubbing the other.

"That salt is rather ineffective…" Suguro deduced aloud as he watch both demons. "Purification salt should have caused instant burns."

"What are you, disappointed?" Rin asked in a slightly offended tone.

"I was just making an observation!" He yelled back before turning to the priest. "Back off! Kuro is a tame demon! He's Rin's familiar!"

The old priest seemed to almost laugh for a moment before regaining his serious composure. "Foolish drivel! No demon can be trusted! And what gives a child like him the right keep a demon anyway?" He asked with a smirk.

"Both he and I are Exwires that's why." Suguro responded with an irate tone. "Even an exorcist in training can keep a tame familiar."

The man gave him a glare. "Exorcists? You? With what affiliation if I could be so bold?" He asked with a pompous tone but a serious expression.

"We're with the Knights of True Cross."

The older man looked at the boy and then turned back to his companions with a smirk. He kept the smirk until he turned back. "And what temple is that? There is no True Cross here! We are Exorcist under the order of the feudal lord himself!"

Suguro was taken aback by the man's statement as was evident by the look of confusion he wore. He then turned to Rin. "Fuedel lord? What the hell is he going on about?"

Rin gave him a shrug with a sheepish expression. "It's what I was trying to say earlier. We're not exactly….. in Japan anymore." Suguro gave him a dead glare as he slowly absorbed what he said.

* * *

**And now we have Suguro falling into the mix. He's unfortunately not all that well informed as he sticks his foot in his mouth with that one. Hope ya'll enjoyed my latest installment and I hope I stayed true to the characters. I'm not too experienced with writing them. Anyway if ya'll want chapters faster then ya'll gotta REVIEW, otherwise I'll just get around to it eventually... at some point. Thx for reading!=^-^=**


	6. Chapter 6 - Stranded Plus One

**Hi! Sorry it took me so long but this one just didn't want to be written. I started it 8 days ago and only just now finished it. I also happened to rewrite it a few time cause I hate the direction I was going. Anyway, I apologize for any miss-characterizations in here but there are several characters present and so its hard to keep up with them all. Hope ya'll enjoy my latest chapter!=^-^=**

**BTW I have some new cover art by djanubis! Isn't it awesome!=^-^=**

**Ch. 6 - Stranded Plus One**

* * *

Suguro didn't respond for a moment as if he was spaced out. As Rin began to raise his hand to get his attention the teen suddenly grabbed him by his shirt. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!?" He shook him back and forth a bit as he yelled. Rin responded only after he stopped shaking.

"I don't know! I just know we're not in Japan anymore!"

"Then where the hell are we!?"

Rin pulled his shirt away from his classmate and answered in an agitated yet calm tone. "All I know is that we're in some ninja village called Konoha in some place called The Land of Fire."

Suguro furrowed his brow at the information. "Ninja village? Are you kidding me?"

"That is enough! You children are trying my patience!" Both of the boys turned to see the enraged older man pull out a gourd of some kind. "This nonsensical drivel has gone on long enough!" He motioned to the younger man who pulled out a matching gourd. All attention turned from the arguing teens to the two exorcists who rushed Rin and his cat with the now opened gourds. Rin flinched as both he and Kuro were covered in what seemed to be water.

"Hey!" He yelled angrily as he tried to shake off some of the water. "What's your deal!?"

Kuro stood up and did his classic all over shake which only made Rin wetter. "_I don't need a bath!"_ He then started licking his paw and patting the hair on his head back just like any cat would.

"I think its high time you guys took a hike." Commented an angry Naruto. These guys were seriously getting on his nerves and have, so far, only proven they're jerks.

The older man glared at him. "As a ninja of the village of Konoha, I'm sure you know better than to stand in our way."

"Yes but I do believe there is a time and place for such things." Started Neji as he took a handle on the situation. "Perhaps we can settle this with the Lady Hokage?"

The older man seemed rather displeased by the proposition and simply glared at the young man. He seemed ready to decline when his gaze suddenly shifted back to Rin. His face grew fierce as he pointed. "You see!? This is the beast you defend!" They all turned to see Kuro standing on Rin's head with his back arched and hissing. His pupils were constricted as he bared his fangs and he jumped off the boy's head.

"Kuro?" The cat gave no sign of acknowledgement as it further approached the priest.

"Finally showing your true colors are you beast?" His cocky smile as he pointed his staff only lasted a few moments before Kuro transformed. All but two of the on lookers were in shock and awe as the cat suddenly grew several times in size.

"Kuro!? What are you doing!?" Rin cried out but Kuro once again ignored him.

"Holy…." Lee started as his surprise mimicked many of the others. Akamaru barked at the large cat as he took a stance by his partner Kiba who was gapping in amazement. It was short lived though, as they adjusted rather quickly to the change. There are plenty of summoning creatures far larger than this one, they just didn't expect the cat to grow is all.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked as he grabbed Rin by the shoulder.

"I'm not sure…. He was fine a minute ago!" The cat sidhe glared at the trio and let out a low roar as it slowly continued its approach.

The exorcists now felt they had bitten off more than they could chew as they gazed up at the monster they had riled. "Now you see what a monster this demon truly is!" He turned to the one wearing the mask. "We must act now! No more holding back!" Kuro interrupted the man by leaping at him while still baring its fangs. It caused the man to stumble back only to be even more surprised when the demon fell short and flat on its stomach.

"Calm down Kuro!" While several of the ninja had made moves to stop the cat's charge, no one was as effective as Rin and all he did was simply grab his friend by the tail. The jerk it caused didn't move Rin an inch, much to the surprise of those around him aside from Bon who know how strong he was. The cat turned and hissed at him as he began to pull against the boy's monster strength. "Damn it Kuro! I said cool it!" He swung to the side and Kuro lost his balance and fell over shaking the ground under him.

"What the hell…?" Suguro just didn't have the words for just how fast this had gone south.

The two men then took positions next to the demon and clapped their hands together. "Begin!" Shouted the master and both he and the masked exorcist began to chant. The priestess took the branch in her hand and threw it onto the demon and the reason became clear as Kuro opened his eyes and began to squirm. For whatever reason he couldn't move and that only seemed to make him angrier.

"What are they doing!?" Rin then made a move to stop them before Suguro cut him off.

"That's a chant for restricting the movements of a demon, it won't hurt him." He then raised a hand to his chin. "I'm surprised though, to be able to hold Kuro like that even though their purification salt and holy water had no effect." He then pondered it to himself for a moment before turning to see Rin with an angry expression. "Okumura?" The boy's anger seemed to be uncommon for him. Suguro had seen him angry countless times but this time seemed different. He just couldn't put his finger on it but it was.

Rin stormed up to the older man and grabbed him by his robe without a word. "Unhand me child!" With the chant interrupted the priestess had to step in and take her masters place. The older man pulled at his robes to be released from the boy's grasp. "I said let go!" Rin glared daggers at the man before flat out slugging him on the spot. The man quickly fell, unceremoniously, to the ground with a groan.

"Okumura!?" Suguro ran up to his classmate and grabbed his shoulder. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"They were asking for it!" Rin yelled in response.

Upon seeing his master attacked, the younger priest stepped forward to counter attack. "What are you doing boy!?" As he made his move Rin grabbed his arm to pull him closer and slugged him too breaking the wooden mask in the process. The man was now gripping at the splintered mask due to several pieces of it now drawing blood from his face.

Naruto was next to step in as he grabbed Rin's other arm. "What's gotten in to you Rin? Stop it!"

Rin let out a frustrated growl as he pulled his arm away. "Back off! These guys don't deserve to be protected!" He then walked a couple steps towards the old priest who was trying to stand up and grabbed his robe again.

"Let me go! Demon child!" He yelled in fear as he continued to tug at his robes and save himself from another agonizing punch from the boy.

"Why don't just get the hell out of here then!?" He then threw him hard to the ground where the priestess came to his side along with the other man.

Almost half of his mask had broken off with two gashes clearly visible on his cheek. He also had a strange tattoo on his forehead which was partially still covered by the mask. "Come master, let us retreat for now." The older man nodded as he wiped the blood from his face and the man threw down what looked to be a small ball. A cloud of smoke appeared seconds later and once it dissipated the trio was gone.

"Bastards." Rin mumbled under his breath as he turned to Kuro. The large cat sidhe was beginning to stand again as it knocked the branch off its back. It shook a moment before it started to growl again. Once it turned its head both Naruto and Bon, who were the closest aside form Rin, took steps back. Kuro set his eyes on his fellow demon and bared his teeth. "I told you to chill!" He then charged at him and slammed his forehead into the cat's in a skull shattering head butt. Kuro's vision became fuzzy as he fell back into a sitting position.

Suguro's agape expression was shared by several others with TenTen holding her own head at the thought of even trying that. "Just how hard headed are you Okumura?"

"I doubt it can even be measured." Came a grumble from behind them.

"Another one?" Questioned Kiba as he watched the serious young man step out of the door way while adjusting his glasses.

"And just who might you be?" Asked Neji as he stepped forward.

"Mr. Okumura!" Suguro then made his way over, leaving Rin behind.

"Mr. Suguro, I apologize for taking so long, but finding this door took me awhile. What exactly is going on? Mr. Miwa told me you found Kuro and chased after him."

Bon nodded. "Yeah, Rin apparently sent him to find someone." He then turned back to see Rin rather spaced out in place and Kuro seemed to be doing the same. "Rin?" He walked over and waved a hand in his face. The boy snapped out of it and quickly noticed his brother.

"Yukio!?" His next movement was almost super human as he ran up and hugged him. "It feels like it's been so long! I even miss you yelling at me." It was rather odd considering how angry he was just a moment ago. Rin then looked to see Yukio glaring at him and instantly let go. Yukio quickly regained his composure and adjusted his glasses. "Yukio…?"

Yukio crossed his arms before speaking. "I'm waiting."

"For what?" Asked the confused brother. "For you to tell me where the hell you've been the past few days! When you just up and disappear I'd expect you could give me some sort of excuse." Rin's smile quickly fell at the prospect of having to try and explain things again, but he complied. A few minutes and a short explanation later, Yukio now had a fair understanding of where he currently was. He let out a sigh. "And it took you this long just to figure out to use the cram school key?" He then began shaking his head in a disapproving manner.

Rin seemed a bit frustrated by the gesture. "It's not like I could've used it before. I didn't find Kuro again until this morning."

"Yeah, you should cut the guy some slack." Comment Kiba, seemingly out of nowhere. "Anyway, now that you've had and explanation, I think its high time we got one." He said as he gestured to the other confused ninja around him.

Neji nodded in agreement as he stepped forward. "Yes, I do believe that is in order, and also this key." He held up the cram school key. "What exactly is it?"

Yukio raised a brow. "That is a dimensional key given to cram school students so they can enter the cram school through any door." He then pointed to the already open door. "As you've no doubt figured out."

"And this True Cross place?" The joinin inquired.

"I can only assume you're referring to True Cross Academy which is where the cram school is. It's a large school located in Academy Town Japan. The cram school is for Exorcists in training to enter the Knights of the True Cross." He then turned back to his brother after his halfhearted explaination. Truth be told, he wasn't taking any of this as serious and only had getting Rin home in mind. "Anyway Rin, you need to get back to the Academy before the Vatican finds out you've disappeared. You too Mr. Suguro." He motioned for the two of them to head towards the door.

Rin suddenly remembered a little something he forgot to mention. "Um, Yuko?" He started with a sheepish expression. "I can't go back right now."

Yukio responded with a dead look accompanied by a matching silence. "We don't have time for this Rin." He then grabbed him by the arm and turned back towards Neji. "I need that key back please." He had his ready smile on as the teen handed him the key with a wary expression. He quickly took it and pulled his struggling brother towards the doorway by his arm.

"Look Yukio….. I really can't….. let go!"

"And the minute I do, you'll run off somewhere again. No I think I'll keep hold until we reach the class." He had a determined smile on his face as he turned back and then quickly forward again. "Let's go Suguro." The teen nodded in compliance and followed behind. Unfortunately, Yukio just didn't give Rin a chance to explain himself properly and so was rather surprised to feel the sudden stop after crossing the threshold of the doorway. He raised a brow as he turned back to see what the hold up was only to see Rin frozen in place with his hand just outside the door frame. "What?... Come on Rin."

He pulled again and got no ground at all much to his own surprise. He let go and allowed his hand to fall back to his side. "I told you man….. I'm stuck." He raised his hand back up in a pose to bang on a door but when he went to try it stopped right at the threshold without a single noise. Yukio turned to observe the phenomenon up close and just couldn't derive just what was causing it. It was as if some sort of barrier were in place but it only effected Rin. How is that possible?

"Just what's going on with you? First you disappear randomly and now you're stuck by an invisible wall that only seems to exist for you." He nodded his head as he crossed his arms. "You must've pissed off a god of karma or something. Can't say I'm surprised."

Rin turned to his supposed friend in a comedic pitiable state. "That's so mean man! What did I do to you?"

"Regardless, this is a problem Rin. If you don't come back soon, chances are you're going to end up back on the Arch Knight's hit list and I can already-" He was cut off by the door suddenly slamming shut.

An angry middle aged man who looked like a shop keep was holding broom with one hand on the door. "And just what're you doing in my storage shed eh!? You kids better get outta here!" He shooed them away with a few swings of his broom and they all promptly relocated to what looked to be a park like area.

"_RIN!"_ Kuro came barreling after them in a panicked state.

Rin turned to his friend with a worried expression. "Kuro!? Are you okay?"

The cat quickly jumped into his arms and looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "_You left me behind with the broom!"_

Rin rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry man….. I was in a hurry."

"Hey is he… okay?" Kiba asked warily. He wasn't too sure about the cat after he grew large and went on a minor rampage against those priests.

Rin wasn't all that sure himself and so he turned back to Kuro. "So…. Are you alright? You kinda went a bit crazy back there."

Kuro looked at him in confusion. "_But I didn't do anything. That man just swung a broom at me!"_

"No those priests. You just charged them out of nowhere and weren't listening to anything I said." Rin corrected only to receive a confused expression back.

"_But… I didn't attack anyone… What are you talking about?"_

"Wait… what?"

"What's wrong Rin?" Queried Suguro as he saw the look of confusion on the boy's face.

"He says he has no idea what I'm talking about."

"_Really Rin! I remember being mad cause they threw water on me and then I woke up with that human trying to hit me with a broom."_

Rin scratched his head. "But you transformed and attacked them."

"Yeah and Rin had to knock you out." Concurred Suguro as he assisted Rin in his explanation. He then paused a bit as he raised a hand to his chin. "Come to think of it though, you went a bit crazy too."

The demon in question raised a brow. "Me? What do you mean?"

"Well I know you were mad at them over Kuro, that I get, but they weren't actually hurting him. I think you went a bit over board when you hit the old man even if he was a jerk."

Rin scratched the back of his head as he thought about. He then turned to Bon with a slightly guilty expression. "Yeah… I guess you're right." He then took another moment to think. "Maybe if I see that guy again I can apologize? I wasn't really thinking when I did it to be honest." He wore a sheepish expression as he said the last part.

Bon simply looked at him like he couldn't be serious before shaking his head. "Okumura…. I really think something's wrong with you." Rin gave him a clueless expression which sort of matched that of Kuro.

"I don't know about you guys but this is really confusing to me." Tenten started. "I mean I just got back from a mission and suddenly people are walking in from places I've never heard of."

"Truly an interesting development indeed." Lee stated as he crossed his arms. "This True Cross sounds quite exciting. Could you tell me more about it Rin?"

Rin turned to the egger ninja. "Sure I guess. Ummm…. It's a huge city with different schools in it and…."

"True Cross is a single school within Academy town. You can find a school for almost anything there. True Cross Academy by itself is just a prestigious school for those are relatively well off, but you don't have to be rich to go there. The Cram School we go to is just a piece of it and is run under the Knights of the True Cross, an organization for the exorcising of demons the world over." Suguro stated, unsurprised at Rin's lack luster answer to begin with.

"Yeah." The teen agreed as he pointed to Bon.

"Anyway, we need to go and get Mr. Okumura back here. He's probably waiting for someone to reopen the door." He then held out his hand. "Can I borrow your key?"

Rin looked at it in confusion. "What are you talking about? Yukio took me key remember? Just use your own." Suguro froze at that moment and his eyes went wide. "What's wrong?"

"Tch…. I don't have mine…." He then raised his hand to his head. "Damn it…. I left it in my bag which I gave to Shima." Only seconds later did his self-loathing get interrupted by a muffled laugh from Rin. The angry teen glared at him. "And just what the hell's so funny!?"

Rin couldn't hold it in any longer as he held his stomach with both arms. "You're stuck here with me!" He pointed a teasing finger at the boy who shouted back defensively.

"I'm sorry if getting stranded wasn't on my mind when I went chasing after your damn cat, and he bit me by the way!" Rin just continued to laugh at the angry teen as if they weren't truly stranded for the time being.

* * *

Yukio stared at the door with surprise on his face. The slamming of the door really was rather sudden so he couldn't be blamed for his reaction but it was a bit more than that. Now he was finally letting the true magnitude of the situation hit him. Rin was still…. Where ever he was and now he didn't know how to get back. "Wait…. Mr. Suguro should have his key right? He should be able to open the door back."

He decided to wait a few more minutes but the longer it took the more he thought about it. Surly it shouldn't take so long. If Bon really did have his key then he would of reopened the door back by now. He then let out a sigh as he turned down the hall. "Damn it Rin…" He muttered under his breath. Why does this have to happen now of all times? Rin's already in enough trouble as it is. He continued down the hall as he gathered what he knew about the mysterious location.

* * *

**And end. Now Bon is stranded with Rin and Yukio is building up more stress by the minute. He'll be greying before he hits 20, I can feel it. Anyway, I apologize again for the OOC-ness this chapter may contain and hope my next one meets your standards. I hope ya'll will give me a bit of feed back on it though, how you thought it went, what you hated, that sort of thing. Reviews will definitely help me improve as a writer. Oh and do ya'll like the cover art? I certainly do.=^-^=**


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